Sunday 25th January, 2009

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (30 minutes)
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DISAPPOINTED, DISILLUSIONED AND DISCOURAGED!

• Read Mark 6:30-44 (you could pick almost any passage – I’ve chosen this one almost at random). Put yourself into the position of the disciples and then someone in the crowd. Can you see the place where they are suddenly in he gap between what they hoped or expected to happen and it actually happening? Think how they would have felt? Can you draw parallels with your own life?

• Have you ever felt let down by God? Have you had prayers remain unanswered, or things go very differently from what you expected or hoped? How did you cope? How do you feel about these things now? Are they still painful? Do they have an influence on your behaviour or beliefs now? Pray and ask what God would have you do to begin your healing.

• Read Romans 8:18-38. Read it again out loud. Try writing it out in your own words, as if you were conveying the ideas to a friend who doesn’t understand all the Christian terms. Feel free to use lists, bullet points and your own metaphors – whatever it takes to help the meaning really sink in!

• Do you think you believe it? Does it feel like it’s just a quick and easy answer that doesn’t really meet the pain of your situation? How do you think you can you get through this and discover the encouragement God intends it to be in our lives?
  

• Read Romans 5:1-5. Does it seem ridiculous to “rejoice in our sufferings”? Paul says suffering changes us into better people. How do you think your suffering might help you to be more like Jesus?

• Read Hebrews 11:32 to 12:3 and 2 Corinthians 4:7-18. Do you find this encouraging?

• Read Revelation 21:1-7. How does this make you feel? You could also read John 14:1-3 for the same idea put a different way.

Sunday 18th January, 2009

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (40 minutes)
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FRUIT NOT FACTORY!

• What does abiding/remaining in Christ mean to you? How can you practise abiding in your own life? Read the passages: Psalm 80-8-9; Isaiah 5:1-7 and Jeremiah 2:21 where the analogy of the vine/vinegrower is also used. Does this bring more significance to Jesus being the true vine?

• If you read Matthew 7:15-20 and Galatians 5:22-23 – how do you interpret bearing fruit? What would it look like to bear fruit and how can we judge if we are? Consider those areas where you most want to grow. Talk to God about how he can help you to become more Christlike in these areas of your character.

• As we become more Christlike, we are revealing the character of God. Find some key passages in the Gospel of John where Jesus talks about revealing the character of his Father – John 5 and 14-17 are a great start. If you want to do more study, try using www.studylight.org to find relevant passages

• Is your Christian life about trying to please God through good works or can you believe that God loves you and that his priority is an abiding relationship with you? How does the need to perform and please God and/or people affect your life and your relationship with him?

• What does joy mean to you? Think about times when you have experienced joy in your relationship with God or by serving him through ministry. Do you rely on who you are in God or what you do for people to bring you joy?

• How much does your good works and ministry to others come out of feelings of responsibility rather than love? Do you sometimes compare your own character and giftings with other people in church? How can you develop a closer relationship with God so that his love grows in your heart and gives you the “ability to respond” in love?

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Sunday 11th January, 2009

If you missed the talk from this Sunday, you can listen to it by clicking here. (24 minutes)
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LIVING FOR A VISION!

• They say religion answers the question “Why are we here?” Try personalising the question – why are you here? What do you think is the point of your life? How does your faith make a difference in answering this very hard question?

• Try one (or both) of the exercises below. Let your imagination, ambition and even your ego run wild. This is an exercise in aspirations so don’t hold back!
  

• Write your own obituary! Imagine it’s many, many years in the future, you’ve died and a newspaper is reporting your death. What would you love them to write about you and your life?

• Imagine some people are talking about you when you’re not there. What would you like them to be saying?

• Look at what you wrote for the previous exercise. If you have done this properly you have been writing out a description of the person you would like to be. What do you notice about it? Does it seem possible to be that person? What kind of things have you written? Are they mostly about your character – the type of person you’d like to be – or are they about achievements – the things you’d like to do? What does this tell you about yourself? Should you try to balance the two types of elements out?

• How do you feel about the idea of changing? Would you like to change? Do you feel the need to change? Or do you feel as though you’re more or less where you’d like to be? Why do you feel like this and is it a good thing to feel?

• Try to write out a vision for your life. Maybe do it as a brainstorm rather than prose, as this avoids prioritising and means nothing is written in stone. It’s good to check back and make changes and additions from time to time.

• How does having a vision make you feel about what you’d like to do with your life? Read Luke 4:14-21 and John 10:7-18 for Jesus’ vision for his life. Read Genesis 1:28-2:25 for God’s vision for people.

• Do you feel overwhelmed by your vision? If you don’t you probably haven’t been brave enough. Read Exodus 3:1 – 4:17 for the account when God gives Moses a vision for his life. How could you apply the verses in Exodus 4:10-12 to your own fears? Meditate on this whenever you’re feeling intimidated by the path ahead.

• Read Hebrews 11 to see how vision gives us the power to persevere. Read Hebrews 12:1-3 and consider what our vision should be focused on. Is this the central part of your vision? If not, how could you make it the central ingredient?

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